Sarah McLachlan Felt 'Connected' to Late Smashing Pumpkins Keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin's 'Pain' When Writing 'Angel'

Melvoin, who was touring with the Smashing Pumpkins as a keyboardist, died in his Manhattan hotel room in 1996 at age 34 after using heroin with the band's drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin. Despite never having had a substance use problem herself, McLachlan felt "connected to this story."
"I've never done heroin in my life, but I've been in that hotel room on tour and just feeling so alone and lost and... you know, starting to hate myself."
McLachlan wrote the song in two days and remembered feeling like "it just got channeled through me." "And that's never happened to me before. Like I said, I'm not prolific. It usually takes months, if not years, to finish a song. And it was so quick."

https://people.com/sarah-mclachlan-felt-connected-smashing-pumpkins-keyboardist-pain-writing-angel-11817619